DIY Aquaponics | Decorative. Practical. Simple.
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- Over 2 Years Later - • Near Maintenance-Free ...
Final Update - • No Filter Fish Tank
Let nature do the work for you. Grow plants with less effort and filter your aquarium at the same time. The main reason we do water changes on aquariums is to keep nitrate levels to a minimum. It is to also keep TDS levels stable (if you top off frequently with tap water). But no man made aquarium filter removes nitrates (the final byproduct of the tank cycle). Filtration usually includes 3 stages; mechanical, biological and chemical. None of which remove or absorb the nitrates. Add the 4 element "Horticultural" filtration and complete the ecosystem.
Aquatic plants do not remove nitrates as fast as they build up in most cases (low tech tanks). The exceptions might include floating plants like duckweed, hornwort, anacharis or even large amounts of java moss so long as there is adequate light and the bioload is not too high. If you keep nitrate levels low you will tend to have less algae resulting in a cleaner and more stable water column.
If you are new to hydroponics, I have not discussed in the video that it is important to have a portion of plant roots exposed to air and not submersed. This allows the roots to breathe. I also chose not to use clay pebbles in this system because I want a free flow of water and do not want particulate to be trapped and build up in the system. While this can be made into a primary filtration system, in my case this is secondary. Less chance of clogs, should never need cleaned and will always have good flow around the roots. No chance of stagnant or anaerobic conditions.
There are so many ways this can be made or modified and there are a wide variety of bog plants that will thrive in this system. This is by no means the cheapest way or the best way. This was just a spur of the moment design of thought up. If you want to use your own choice of container, DON'T use plastic that crack easily. I chose PVC as its flexible and is not brittle. Run your hole saws in reverse to make the holes in plastics. Its the safest way to drill plastics. And honestly...the hardest part of this whole thing was actually doing the video.
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I recently added a little Seachem Matrix (pumice stone) to the bottom of the white container (under the black insert). This is just to act as an extra biological filter. I only added a handful so that water can still flow freely. If you want to add this, make sure you rinse the rocks very well or the aquarium will cloud. It is inert and is not harmful though.
Seachem Matrix - amzn.to/3bohaRS
For the rest of the parts you should use you local hardware store as you may need to tailor the assembly to your needs.
For the grid you could use egg crate light diffuser. Should be available at hardware store. For the noisy drain, you could copy the design of a Maggie Muffler.
I have already used the pipe method shown at the video end and it’s hardly audible now. I modded the drain exit also with a end cap with a 1/2” hole drilled which focuses the water into a steady stream as it enters the tank surface. That makes zero noise too now. I didn’t put that in the video because everyone will have a different situation that they would need to make their own adjustments for. If they really want to.
For the top grid, I used a piece of half inch poly foam with a few holes poked through. I took pieces of cut cpvc pipe and hot glued them to the underside to act as legs so it sits under the lip of the container and is not visible. That’s all stuff I had laying around so it was free and on hand.
I've seen a lot of set ups with a similar backbone, but your adaptation of design over function, actually improves both. The feed tube inside a much larger drain tube is a great idea, the clean look of your setup is awesome. The pump outside the tank AND below water line. Shallow pickup tube. Of all of the designs I've seen in this "family", yours is definitely the one I will emulate in my project. Thank you for sharing!
And it’s still working today
Interesting concept, and great to enjoy the plants without having to water them.
You're an inspiration man thank you!
Pretty clever. Can the drain tube not go all the way underwater to reduce noise even further?
Chris Conn sure it can. I like the surface agitation though. Helps with the proteins and bacteria on the surface. Since I added it, my water surface is much cleaner.
If you wanted, could you have made a shelf the entire length of the tank? Is there a limit/ratio of how many plants a fish tank can support? Is it based on how many fish are or how much fish food you add?
Shawn Faust sure. With pothos Ivy it doesn’t really matter. But in a planted tank it will thieve the nutrients.
@@GrowingAnswers How many, lets say generically, "salad greens" plants would this set up be able to support?
Shawn Faust quite a few. It’s around the same space as those aerogardens
My aquaponic system is half the size of my fish tank. Tank is heavily planted and the photos is growing like crazy. I do not see issues with the plants in my tank. Just add more fish and there will be enough food for all plants
Have you thought about adding biological filter media or hydroponic media?
Joel H read the video description. It will answer that.
What kind of fish do you keep?
Cosmic Pangolin various types of tetra, rasbora, barbs and Bolivian rams. Also various types of shrimp.
its a grand concept but i think its not a great idea in a planted tank as the pythos is really nutrient hungry, probably will cause you to dose more fertilizers. other than that its something im going to build for myself, thank you very much!
Alex Kookiez I still only dose a half dose once per week. Pothos is nitrate hungry mostly, but it doesn’t Grow fast enough to take away from the other plants.
I doubt. I have been running a similar system for 5 years (zero water changes so far) and my aquaponic system is half the volume of my fish tank. The system is full of Photos and my fish tank has a lot of plants in it. The only annoying thing is that the photos is growing too fast and climbing on my walls. Other than that I just top up the water and it's all good
Can you do tomatoes please !
jarrett loden in my Aquaponics setup? No way. But sure it can be done. I’ve already done plenty of videos on tomatoes.
Growing Answers no sir lol 😂 just wanted to see a video on how to grow tomatoes. I will have to take a second look.